Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 60: Year End Review

 

The year 2020 is drawing to a close. Is that a sigh of relief I can hear? 

For many - most? - of us this has been a year like no other. The entire world has collectively had to navigate these strange, challenging, stressful, tedious, frightening times.

Most years I find the last few days of the year a good time to look back over the preceding twelve months - both good and bad. This year I think it's more important than ever to reflect on the events of the last year. It has been a time of such momentous change for everyone that there must be a serious need to process it all. In fact, I suspect we'll be processing 2020 for a good long time to come. 

Despite the dramas of 2020 though, I believe when looking back we'll be able to find happy memories as well as difficult ones. Life is never all good or all bad. For example, Coronavirus has had a devastating impact on my work and income, we've had major maintenance issues with the house and several of my loved ones have been battling serious illness. Yet I've loved having more free time on my hands to spend on gardening and writing again; I've had my faith in human nature restored by so many acts of love, kindness and generosity; and I've had space to stand back, reassess my life and realise what is really important - and what isn't.  

Winter Blessings and Beauties - Day 60

Year End Review

In your notebook or journal, make some notes reviewing 2020. Probably there will be some major events that stand out in your memory so make a brief note of these first. Then cast your mind back, month by month and try to remember what other things occurred. If you need to jog your memory, look back through your journal, diary, calendar, blog, social media accounts or even the photos on your phone. Make brief notes of everything you remember.

Now start to flesh things out and ask yourself some questions about the year. What were the best things that happened? What were the worst? What did you learn? What did you lose? What things would you like to leave behind in 2020? What will you gladly take forward with you into 2021? What unfinished business do you have to deal with?  What did you achieve? What are you hoping for? What would you differently next time? 

Try to find a sentence - or two - that sums up 2020, good and bad.